Hay-carrier.



W. F. JACOBS.

HAY CARRIER.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 5. 1914.

1,1 59,888, Patented Nov. 9, 1915.

5 SHEETS-SHEET I.

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APPLICATION FILED OCT. 5. 1914.

Patented Nov. 9, 1915.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

n czaamr Jacaa.

W. F. JACOBS.

HAY CARRIER.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 5, 1914.

1,159,388. 7 I Patented Nov. 9, 1915.

' 5 SHEET$SHEET 3.

W. F. JACOBS.

HAY CARRIER.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 5. I9I4.

1,1 59,388. Patented Nov. 9, 1915.

5 SHEETSSHEET 4- W. F. JACOBS.

HAY CARRIER.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 5. 1914.

1 1 59,388. Patented Nov. 9, 1915.

5 SHEETSSHEET 5- UNITED TATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM F. JACOBS, 0F OTTAWA, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO J'. E. PORTER COMPANY, OF OTTAWA, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

HAY-CARRIER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 9, 1915.

riers of thattype designed to elevate and transport a load along a supporting track by the manipulation of a draft rope.

The principal features of my invention are directed toward the construction of the supporting trucksand wheels of the carrier,

whereby the latter may be more easily moved along a supporting track of culvilinear form, and furthermore my invent on has to do with a novel arrangement of supporting and guiding devices forthe .draft rope,

whereby the hay-carrier can be operated with greater ease and eiiiciency thanheretofore.

The general features of construction of a hay-carrier, embodying the features of my invention, are similar to those set forth in the prior U. S. Letters PatentsNos. 785,361

and 826,856 for hay carriers, granted to me on March 21st, 1905, and-July Zetth, 1906, respectively.

The improvedfeatures of construction in hay-carriers of the'class described have to do with the provisions of supporting wheels in swiveled connection with the carrier proper, and of guide rollers acting in conjunction with the supporting rollers to permit them to more easily conform to the curvature of the track and to aid in maintaining the carrier in upright position durconnection with a circular or curved track, such as would be used in a circular barn or similarly shaped structure. These features andothers are fully described in the following specification, more particularly pointed out in the appended claims, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a View in side elevation of a hay-carrier embodying the features of my invention; Fig. 2 is a plan view of the hayca-rrier; Fig. 3 is a view in vertical section, taken on line 33 of Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is a detail view in longitudinal section, taken on line 4.-i of Fig. 2, showing the manner of operation of the locking dogs and trip mechanism; Fig. 5 is a detail view in vertical section,taken on line 55 of Fig. 1,

showing the construction of one of the trucks; Fig. 6 is sectional view of acircular barn, showing the arrangement of a haycarrier in plan view; Fig. 7 is a view in vertical section of a circular barn, showing the manner of operating a hay-carrier mounted therein; and Fig.8 is a detail view, showing the construction and arrangement of the track and guide pulleys, in a circular barn.

The features of my invention include, in general, a supporting track, preferably of the double headed type, bent or formed to give it a circular or curvilinear shape; a hay carrier supported upon the track, the same comprising a carriage provided with suitable rope-engaging sheaves and trip mechanism; a truck provided with flanged track-engaging wheels; and a hoisting pulley block, together with means for simultaneously locking the'carriage at a desired position on the track, releasing thehoisting pulley from the carriage, and for locking the'hoisting pulley to the carriage, when the latter is moved along the track to a predetei'mined point at which the load is to be discharged. These features of construction will be better understood as I proceed with a more detailed description of the construction, arrangement and operation of the devices embodying my invention.

Referring to the preferred form of the track 10, which I have shown in the drawings, the same comprises two laterally extending flanges or tread portions 10*, 10 and two central, vertical flanges 10*, 10 eX- tending upwardly and downwardly from the opposite faces of said lateral flanges;

-said vertical flanges being provided at their margins with enlarged portions or beads The track is supported in any desirable manner, although preferably by means of hangers 11, 11 (Fig. 1), which are'secured to and depend from the upper frame-work of the barn or structure in which the hay-' pivotal or swiveled connection for this purpose, is aiforded by providing the truck with a .centrahcircular casing- 1st, havlng an inner annular recess 14 (Fig. 3), which is engaged by an annular flange 15 integral with the frame 12, thereby forming, in effect, a swiveled connection between the truck.

andframe the latter extending downwardly below the truck. The frame is provided with side walls 12 12 which are separated from each other and are flared outwardly at their lower portions, thereby providing between them a hollow or free space immediately below the central portion of said frame. At the rear of the frame 12 isprovided a socket 12 (Figs. 1 and 5), which receives, and

' affords a loose support for, a sw'iveled connectingmember 16, to which is secured one end of the draft-rope 17. At the extreme endof the frame, adjacent to said socket 12, is provided an eye 18, to which is se cured a rope 19, adapted for moving the carrier backwardly along the track. At the opposite or forward end of the carrier is rotatably mounted a rope-sheave 20, over which the draftmope passes in leaving'the carrier. The said draft-rope extends from its secured end, that is, from the swiveled connecting member '16, to the hoisting pulley 21, passing around said pulley and thence to said rope sheave 20, as shown in Fig. 1.- The hoisting pulley 21, by virtue of thelocation of the attached end of the draft-ropeandthe rope-sheave 20, is constantly retained in a position in vertical alinementwith the central portion of the carrier frame, and, as will be presently seen, is adapted to move upwardly and downwardly in such'relation to the frame. The hoisting pulley 21 is of the usual construction, comprising a grooved pulley wheel 22 mount-. ed in'asemicircular block 23, provided. with a U-shaped link 23, to which is secured the hay-sling, or other device for attaching a load thereto. The block 23, in this instance, hangs downwardly so that the upper half of the pulley wheel is free or exposed, for a-reason to be hereinafter pointed out. In

dogs. from locking position.

addition to being capable of vertical movement to raise and lower the load," the hoist- V ing pulley is adapted to'be lockedto the frame when drawn up in close proximity thereto and into the space between thewalls 12 12*of the frame 12, thereby relieving the draft-rope of the weight of the load during the movement of the carriage along the track.

Means for locking the hoisting pulley to similar locking jaws or dogs, 25, 25rpivotally mounted uponjtheopposite side walls 12, l2 -of-the frame and above the lower margins, thereof. These dogs (Fig. 3) are provided at the lower extremities with transversely extending fingers 25 25 which project toward each other in 1010a relatlon and into the space between the side walls oftheframe. The dogs are mounted upon pivot pins 26, 26, intermediate their ends, so that at the upper ends'thereof are formed two lever. arms 27, 27. Theidogs are further providedadjacent to their 'piv-. V

otal points with inwardly extending fingers 28, 28, which overlap in interlocking and sliding relation to each other, so that any movement of one of the dogs will be trans-- mitted to the other in like manner and de gree. The dogsare adapted to engage and retain the hoisting pulley by gripping between them the rims of ,said pulley wheel,i as shown in Fig. '3, thereby securing said.

hoistingpulley directly to the frame of the hay-carrier. The dogs are normally held in locking position by means of a locking head 29 (Fig. l) pivotally mounted upon'the frame adjacent to. the circular flange 14 thereof and above the locking dogs 25, 25. The locking head 29 is adapted to rest in the space between the upper-portions or l'everarms 27, 27 of the dogs, and in contact with the transverse interlocking fingers'28,

28, thereby acting in the nature of a wedge to prevent the swinging movement of the p The locking head'is adapted to be. lifted from the space between the locking dogs and from engagement therewith, for thepurpose of effecting the release or unlocking of the hoisting pulley, by means comprising; a vertically ex-' tending trip finger. 30 integral with said locking head and term nating above said block and immediately;below'.'the lower flangelO of the suppo'rting'track 10. The locking head is also 'providedwith an integral and rearwardly-extending locking finger 31, extending upwardly to a slight degree, but terminating short of the trip finger 30, when in normalor locking position.

The trip and locking fingersBU and 31 are adapted to coact with a trip block 32 movably secured to the under or lower flange 10 of the track 10. The trip block 32 comprises a body member adapted to be clamped to the track by means of bolts 33 and two depending lugs 32*, 32 spaced at a distance apart, so as to'form a notch or recesses 34: between them. Said lugs of the trip block are adapted to engage the trip and locking fingers 30 and 31, for the pur pose of releasing the hoisting pulley and for simultaneously locking the carrier from movement along the track during the opera-- tion of elevating the load, in a manner hereinafter to be described. It is to be noted that the lugs 32, 32 of the trip block 32 extend below the upper margin of the annular frame-supporting member l l of the truck 13, as shown in Fig. 3, and for that reason the front and rear portions of said member are removed to permit the lugs of the trip block to pass freely within the space surrounded bysaid frame-supporting member 1st of the truck for the purpose of engaging the trip and locking fingers 30 and 31.

In order to permit the carrier to maintain a vertical position upon the circular track 10, features of construction in the truck 12 are provided as follows: At the forward and rear ends of the truck are provided upwardly extending, U-shaped yokes 36, 36, pivotally mounted on the truck by means of swiveled connections, in the nature of a, socket and ball joint 35, as shown in Fig. 5. At the upper ends of the arms of the swivel yokes 36, 36 are provided supporting wheels 37 mounted upon the inner faces of said arms; said wheels being flanged at their outer edges and adapted to engage the lateral flanges or track portions 10", 10 of the track 10, in the usual manner. The yokes 33 are further provided with auxiliary trucks or roller supports 38, 38, each comprising a transversely extending frame member pivotally connected at its mid-point to each arm of a yoke adjacent to its lower extremity (Fig. At the opposite extremities of these frame members are mounted grooved rollers 39, which turn on vertical axes and are located one forward and the other at the rear of each of said wheels 37. Each yoke is therefore provided with a pair of auxiliary trucks 38 and each truck with a pair of rollers 39, arranged as before stated. The planes of the rollers 39 substantially coincide with those of the lateral flanges 10 10 of the track; the rollers being maintained in engagement with the margins of said flanges by means of the grooves formed in the said rollers. The rollers 39 are mounted upon upright pintles 40, the latter having cylindric bearing surfaces, somewhat greater in length than the thickness of the rollers. This feature, together with the pivotal mounting of the auxiliary trucks 38, permits a considerable degree of freedom of motion in the parts, thus preventing the binding of the wheels or rollers or otherwise interfering with the smooth and easy travel of the carrier along the track.

Referring now to the arrangement of the means for operating a hay-carrier of the character described, in connection with a circular track, as would be desirable in a circular barn or other structure of similar shape: Figs. 6 to 8 show such a structure wherein the track 10 is mounted in the upper part thereof and is shown as suspended from the rafters so in concentric relation to the side wall etl of the barn. The track is supported by means of braces d2 (Fig. 8), secured to said rafters and to which are secured bracketse3. These brackets support downwardly extending hangers 4st, which engage the upper flange 10 of the track, as before stated. At one pointin the wall of the barn is shown a door 4.5, through which the hay or like material is brought into the barn, as, for instance, upon wagons or racks. The starting point, or place where the load is attached to the carrier is assumed to be at the point opposite and adjacent to the door 45, at which point a trip block 32 is mounted, and from thence the carrier transports the load to any desired point of discharge.

Extending around the track, and located inwardly therefrom, are provided a plurality of guide pulleys i6 for the draft and return ropes 17 and 19. These pulleys may be of any desired number and are spaced at such distances apart, along the path of movement of the carrier, as to properly support said ropes. These guide pulleys 46 are mounted, as before stated, inwardly from the track and, as shown in Fig. 8, a short distance below the track, the same being supported upon suitable braces in the form of vertical members 47 attached to the rafters 40. These guide pulleys are adapted to carry both the draft-rope 17 and returnrope 19, both in their taut and slackened conditions, and for that reason are constructed as follows: A bracket 48, having a vertically arranged supporting plate attached to the member 47, is provided with horizontally extending arms, between which is mounted a grooved pulley wheel 49 journaled in horizontal position upon a vertical pivot pin 50 secured to said arms; said bracket being further supported by a tie rod 1-8 extending outwardly and upwardly and attached to the rafters 4:0. This pivot pin 50 extends through the undermost one of the brackets 4-8 and is bent substantially at an angle of 45 to the vertical, in an outward direction, namely, in the direction of the track. The lower portion of the pivot pin 50 supports a second pulley or roller 51, the same being of considerable length, taper-ed toward its lower or free end and terminating at such lower end in an annular flange 51. The upper end of the pulley 51 the flanges 51 as shown in dotted lines'in Fig. 8, and when drawn taut, as when a, force is applied to the rope, the same will move upwardly along the surface of the pulley until, under a working strain, the rope will pass from the lower pulley and engage the upper pulley,'as shown in full lines in said Fig. 8. These guide pulleys carry the draft rope 17 and return-rope 19 along the circular path of movement of the carrier, in the following manner: The draft-rope, which leaves the carrier at its forward end, as before described, passes over the guide pulleys and extends entirely abdut the path ofmovement of the carrier in a clock-wise direction, which is also the direction of movement of the carrier from its starting point. carried entirely around the track, approximately to the starting point of the carrier,

at which point a pulley block 52 is located,

whichdirects the draft'rope to a point near the wall of the barn, where it passes through another pulley block 58, and thence downwardly to a third block 54 attached adjacent to the floor. From the block 54, thedraft rope leads to any source of power, although it is ordinarily operated by a horse, which pulls the carrier around the track. The re turn-rope 19 extends rearwardly from the carrier over a pulley block 55, secured adjacent to the track, to a point near the wall of the barn, where another pulley 56 is secured. From the pulley block 56 is suspended a counterweight (Fig. 7), which is attached to a block 58 carrier by the returnrope 19, the end of said rope being fastened to the upper block 56 in the usualmanner. The return-rope acts as follows: As theearrier is moved along the track in a clockwise direction to the point where the load is to be deposited, the return-rope is carried around the several guide pulleys, the weight 56 being simultaneously raised. After the load has been deposited and the pull upon the draft-rope has ceased, the weight acts through the return-rope to automatically move the carrier in the opposite direction and eflect the return of the carrier to the starting point.

The operation of the carrier in removing a load from the wagon and carrying it to the In this manner the draft-rope is between the upper ends of the dogs, thereby V i maintaining the dogs in locking position.

As the carrier approaches the trip block32, with its rear end'foremost, the latter, passes beneath the truck, and the forward lug 32= of the trip block strikes the trip finger 30 of the locking head 29. This contact of the lug and finger causes the head to be drawn or raised from its position between the upper ends of the dogs 25, 25,thus unlocking the same and effecting the release of the hoisting pulley. As 1 the locking head is thrown upwardly, it carries with it the looking finger 31, which is normally located below the end of the trip finger 30, andhe'noe not subject to contact with the trip block. By its upward movement, however, due to the swinging of the locking head 29 about its pivotal point, it is thrown upwardly into the recess 34 between the.lngs 32*", 32 of said trip block, and is retained in that po sition so long as the locking-head is maintained in its unlocked position, the latter being unable to return tolocking position until the dogs are returned to their locking position. The engagement of the lug 31 with the recess 34. of the trip block efiects a secure locking of the hay-carrier to the track, and hence prevents the carrier'from being moved in either direction along the track from its position over the load, during the operation of loading the carrier. The

unlocking of the hoisting pulley, by the en- 7 gagement of the trip-block and locking head,

allows said pulley to be lowered to the wagon and the load. to be attached by means of a hay-sling or like means. The load is then raised'by the pull on the draft-rope until the'hoisting pulley is carried between the side walls 12 12 of the carrier frame and also between the dogs 25,25, which are now in unlocked position. The further pull upon the draft rope results in the striking ofthe hoisting pulley against the interlocking fingers 28, 28 of the locking dogs-25', 25, which operates to separate the upper-ends of said dogs or lever arms 27, 27, and thus permitting the looking head to drop between said arms into locking position. This operation alsoefl ects the unlocking of the carrier from the track, the same now being free to be moved along the track. The forward movement of the carrier is accomplished by the continued pull on the draftrope, whereby the carrier is drawn to any point along tl'ietrack. The load is then released, usually by a trip arrangement in connection with the hay-sling, and the empty carrier is ready to be returned to the starting point. This is done by means of the return-rope 19 and the counter-weight 56, thelatter, by reason of its weight, acting to move the carrier in the opposite direction or backwardly to the starting point, where the trip block again operates to release the hoisting pulley and to lock the carrier to the track, as before described. It is to be noted that, while the carrier is being moved forwardly by the pull on the draft-rope, the said ropes are both taut, by reason of the forces exerted on them, and they are therefore both then in engagement with the upper pulley wheels 49 of the guide pulleys 46. On the other hand, when the carrier is being returned to the starting point, the return rope is obviously taut, and hence engages the upper or horizontal pulley wheels 4-9 of the guide pulleys, whereas the draft rope, which is in slackened condition, during the return movement of the carrier, engages the inclined pulley wheel 51 of the guide pulleys. The guiding means for the ropes, arranged as described,v manifestly support the ropes adjacent to the truck, while enabling said ropes to be carried entirely around a circular track and to exert a pull on the carrier in a direction approximately endwise of the track, so that the carrier may be moved to any point along the track. Furthermore, it is evident that the form of guide pulleys is such that they may release and engage the ropes successively as the carrier travels from one to the other,

lVith the arrangement of guide pullevs as herein shown, the force applied to the carrier, through the medium of the draft and return-ropes, is not exerted along a line actually coinciding with the track, but is directed along a line which lies within the curvature of the track, so that there is a force acting transversely to the direction of movement of the carrier tending to draw the same inwardly and from the track. Furthermore, this transverse component of the actuating force tends to move the carrier from its vertical position and to destroy its equilibrium. The advantage. therefore, of the auxiliary trucks and guide rollers is to counteract the effect of the transverse component of the pulling force, by the engagement of the supporting wheels with the track, thereby resisting any movement of the carrier transversely of the track or out of its normal vertical plane. Furthermore, the guide rollers, by reason of their contact with the track in front and rear of each supporting wheel, aid to rotate the swiveled yokes, thereby guiding the carrier in its movement by insuring the proper engagement'of the wheels with the curved track. The arrangement of the auxiliary trucks and guide rollers in connection with a haycarrier adapted for use with a curved or circular track, together with the employment of guide pulleys for directing and supporting the draft-rope and return-rope, li lOVlClGS a simple and effective means for equipping, with hay or other load-conveying means, a barn or other structure, which is either circular in form or of anv other shane adapted to receive a track which extends around the interior of the same and is curved in whole or in part.

The features of my invention. may be equally well secured by modification of the details of construction shown, without departing from the spirit of my invention, and for that reason I do not wish to be limited to the form or arrangement of parts as herein described and illustrated, except as pointed out in the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a device of the character described, the combination of a. supporting track. a hay carrier, provided with a yoke in swiveled connection with the carrier frame, and supporting wheels mounted upon said yoke and engaging the tread portion of said track, transverselv arranged guide rollers mounted upon said yoke and adapted to engage the side margins of the tread portion of the track adjacent to each of said supporting wheels, and supporting means for said guide rollers connected to said yoke to permit the vertical movement of said rollers relative to said yoke.

2. In a device of the character described, the combination of a supporting track, a hav carrier, comprising a carrier frame, yoke members in pivotal connection with said carrier frame, supporting wheels mounted on said yoke members and engaging the tread portion of said track, auxiliary trucks mounted upon said yoke members, and transversely arranged guide rollers mounted upon each of said auxiliary trucks and adapted to engage the side faces of the said track adjacent to each of said supporting wheels.

3. In a device of the character described, the combination of a supporting track, a hay carrier, comprising a carrier frame pro vided at its ends with yoke members, a supporting wheel mounted on each arm of said yoke members and engaging the tread portion of said track, auxiliary trucks pivotally mounted on said arms of each yoke member and adapted to swing about a horizontal axis, and guide rollers journaled at the ends of said trucks and adapted to engage the side faces of said track on both sides of each of said supporting rollers, said guide 'p'orting Wheel mounted on each arm of said yoke membersand engaging the tread portion of said track, auxiliary trucks pivotally mounted on said arms of each yoke member to swing about a horizontal axis, and, transversely arranged guide rollers mounted at the ends of said auxiliary trucks and adapted to engage, the side margins of the track at the front and rear of each sup- 7 porting Wheel, and to have vertical movementvrelative to said auxiliary trucks.

5. In a device of the character described, the combination of a supporting track, a hay carrier comprising a carrier frame, provided With yokes inswivel connection With said frame, supporting Wheels; carried by said yokes and engaging the tread portions of said track, auxiliary trucks 'pivotally 25 connected with said vokes, and transverselv arranged guide rollers mounted ,on i said auxiliary trucks in position to engage the track at the front and rear of said supnorting Wheels, each of said guide rollers being 30 adapted to have vertical movement relative to said auxiliary trucks, and provided with a circumferential groove'adapted to engage"- the lateral margin of said track.

' In testimony, thatI, claim the foregoing. 35

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